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Friday, December 16, 2016

Happy Holidays!Abby and I are planning to take a blog break until the New Year. We'll be back with book reviews and giveaways, retro posts and nostalgia, and - of course - Dear Abby on Fridays!Thank you so much for reading and interacting here. Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a wonderful holiday season!

Dear Friends,Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season to you! Momma and I are planning to take a blogging break for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to share a few vintage dog photos (all with a festive Christmas theme).

This Calling All Girls magazine cover from 1958 features a very helpful dachshund wrapping gifts with her person.

I love this very looooooooong dachshund on a cute vintage Christmas card.

This dachshund is helping two children shop. (And he even has a cute sweater!)

This cute little terrier dog is helping Santa Claus make a Christmas list.

This 1940's vintage Christmas card is red, white, and blue -- and three little terriers wave American flags.

A cute little dog delivers Christmas cards in this illustration.

Scotties on parade! What is not to love about this? Scotties were big in 1940's illustrations, so this is probably a 1940's era Christmas card.

I hope your holidays are happy and bright! I've enjoyed visiting with you this year, and look forward to catching up again in 2017!Merry Christmas!Love,Abby xoxoxo

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Book DescriptionThe NIV Wonders of Creation Holy Bible explores the wonders of our
created world though detailed black-and-white illustrations—each one
ready to be filled with the hues of your imagination. From amazing
Eden-esque gardens to the creatures God made, this Bible features over
50 ready-to-color pages alongside the full text of the New International
Version (NIV) translation.

My Review

The Wonders of Creation Holy Bible is a beautiful book. It is a lovely hardcover Bible with the New International Version translation. I really love the cover art, which features both black and white patterns and bold splashes of color.

What makes this Bible very unique are 50 pages of illustrations to be colored. Each page features a key Bible verse. The illustrations are detailed, and anyone who enjoys coloring will find them both relaxing and a good way to meditate on the featured Bible verses.

The book opens flat, for ease of reading and for coloring. It also has a presentation page, and would make a great gift! It has a ribbon bookmark.Highly recommended for anyone who wants to combine Bible reading and creativity!I received this book from BookLook Bloggers.

Monday, December 12, 2016

When kindergarten teacher Charli Rae
Warren hightailed it out of Hazel Rock, Texas, as a teen, she vowed to
leave her hometown in the dust. A decade later, she’s braving the
frontier of big hair and bigger gossip once again . . . but this time,
she’s saddled with murder!

Charli agrees to sell off the family
bookstore, housed in a barn, and settle her estranged dad’s debt—if only
so she can ride into the sunset and cut ties with Hazel Rock forever.
But the trip is extended when Charli finds her realtor dead in the
store, strangled by a bedazzled belt. And with daddy suspiciously MIA,
father and daughter are topping the most wanted list . . .

Forging an unlikely alliance with the
town beauty queen, the old beau who tore her family apart, and one ugly
armadillo, Charli’s intent on protecting what’s left of her past . . .
and wrangling the lone killer who’s fixin’ to destroy her future . . .

Author Bio

Three career paths resonated for Kym Roberts during
her early childhood: detective, investigative reporter, and . . .nun.
Being a nun, however, dropped by the wayside when she became aware of
boys—they were the spice of life she couldn’t deny. In high school her
path was forged when she took her first job at a dry cleaners and met
every cop in town, especially the lone female police officer in patrol.
From that point on there was no stopping Kym’s pursuit of a career in
law enforcement. Kym followed her dream and became a detective who
fulfilled her desire to be an investigative reporter, with one extra
perk—a badge. Promoted to sergeant, Kym spent the majority of her career
in SVU. She retired from the job reluctantly when her husband dragged
her kicking and screaming to another state, but writing continued to
call her name, at least in her head. Visit her on the web at
kymroberts.com.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Welcome from the very chilly south! It is feeling very wintry here, and putting me in a holiday mood.

This week we have a wonderful family who stopped by the blog to visit. Our Doxieposse friend, De, brought her dogs Neo, Rusty, Skye, Remy and Sonny. They are beautiful dogs and have wonderful stories!

Abby: I'm so glad you all stopped by. I know my readers would love to hear about your pets.

De: First, thanks so very much for wanting to
include my crew. We all appreciate the invite. The crew consists of 4
Dachshunds and a Golden. Skye, a long hair wild boar, is the oldest, she will
be 16 in January of 2017. Rusty is 14 and a chocolate dapple. Neo is 12 and a
double dapple, and the puppy is Remy. He's a soft wire and will be 1 year old
in February 2017. And last but not least Sonny will be 3 in
February 2017.

Abby: Is there a story behind any of your pets' names?

Sonny

De: There's not really any stories about the crews'
names except for Sonny. My first golden was named Sunny. He was a stray that was
found & we got him from an ad on a grocery store wall . He lived 16 1/2
years , passing in 2000. He was a very special pup. I knew that I wanted
another golden but was a bit hesitant with the doxies. Once I found him I knew
that I would end up calling him Sunny because that's what the old brain would
do. So to avoid confusion, (his & mine) we named him Sonny.

Abby: You have a wonderful family of pups! I would love to hear more about them.

Skye

De: Skye & Sonny are registered therapy dogs.
Skye has been since she was 4 years old & Sonny just finished his first
year. And can he work a room! Skye is also a certified Crisis Response Dog. She
has responded to several disaster sites. But at 16 years of age I don't ask that
much of her now. It's Sonny's turn to pay it forward.

Neo

Rusty

Rusty and Neo are rescues. Rusty is happiest
walking his yard to keep the elephants away. And I must say he's been very
successful. Not one elephant sighting in his 12-year watch. Neo is deaf. He was
going to be put to sleep because the breeders couldn't " use" him anymore. He is
the happiest little guy around. Just throw his ball and give him a lap and he's
golden!

Remy

Remy is the puppy. And what a hoot! He's a
bundle of happiness. He also thinks Sonny is his personal play toy. Remy will
run from one end of the house & jump on Sonny at full speed. They run &
play and wear each other out. Which is extremely funny to watch as Remy weighs
about 17 pounds & Sonny tips the scales at 90 lbs. But Sonny was brought up
to respect the little ones, and he thinks he's a dachshund anyway.

Abby: Thank you so much for visiting! I really enjoyed learning more about your wonderful fur-kids. I can just picture Rusty on elephant watch, and Remy and Sonny happily playing! Readers, you can leave comments or questions for De or her pups in the comments section, below.

Thank you all so much for stopping by! I hope you have a great weekend, and stay warm!

Book SynopsisVal Shakely is a list-maker. Daily routine. Check. Calm, quiet (but
successful) business. Check. No drama. No excitement. Some might call it
boring, but it’s precisely the way Val likes it. She loves her hometown
of Cambria, nestled in the mountains of Colorado, and runs a fruitful
PR firm. And that’s more than enough for Val. So what if she doesn’t
have a social life?

Then, her cousin Gwen decides to take on the local political bully,
the Mayor, in head-to-head combat for the Mayoral seat and Val takes her
company reluctantly, and against her better judgment, into the fray.
The minute Val takes on Gwen’s campaign, the safe world that she has
carefully constructed begins to unravel. She feels the pressure of the
campaign and the personal attacks by Gwen’s opponent.

And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, Val finds herself falling
in love. Val’s desire to stay on the sidelines is put to the test and
she’s forced to reexamine the life she’s built as she trudges toward a
new and more exciting future.

Purchase Links

Wallflower Blooming is a charming novel set in a small town in Colorado. Val Shakely runs a PR business. Her work leads her to help her cousin Gwen with PR for her Mayoral bid.

Val is a quiet homebody who loves to read and enjoys calm and peacefulness. She is surprised to be part of the political scene, and even more surprised to meet an intriguing man.

John Hatfield is also independent and a bit of a recluse, so his romantic interest in Val takes him by surprise.

When Val and John deal with a political bully, and she uncovers some secrets from her family, they find some things they need to work through ... while continuing to get to know each other.

I loved the small town setting of this book, and enjoyed the characters of both Val and John. They were very likeable and sympathetic, and I found myself rooting for their relationship to succeed. I especially loved the way both the characters bloomed as they moved out of their comfort zone in their budding relationship and life in general.

Wallflower Blooming is well written. Amy Rivers does a particularly nice job balancing descriptions and dialogue. The characters are well-drawn and believable. I look forward to more reads by this author in the future.

This is a very pleasant, upbeat story, and it would make a relaxing weekend read. Recommended!

Author BioAmy Rivers was born and raised in southern New Mexico and currently
resides in Colorado. She had an idyllic childhood despite a severe
visual impairment and, perhaps because of her disability, she learned a
lot about compassion and empathy from a young age. Her keen interest in
social issues and violence prevention led to a Master’s degree with
concentrations in Psychology and Politics. She was the director of a
sexual assault response program and remains an advocate for social
justice. Amy has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for Nurses, Novelty Bride Magazine, ESME.com and Splice Today. Wallflower Blooming is her first novel.

GiveawayOne lucky reader will win a copy of Wallflower Blooming. Giveaway is open to readers in the U.S. and Canada. The giveaway will end 12/15 at midnight. Winner will be contacted by email and needs to respond within 48 hours. The book will be mailed to winner by the author or her publicist.a Rafflecopter giveaway

Monday, December 5, 2016

Nick and Nora aren’t just pussyfooting around this time as they deal with a missing person’s case and murder.

While catering a gala for the Cruz
Museum, Nora Charles agrees to look into the disappearance of director
Violet Crenshaw’s niece, a case previously undertaken by her frisky
feline friend Nick’s former owner, a private eye whose whereabouts are
also currently unknown.

As Nora and her curious cat Nick pull at
the string of clues, they begin to unravel a twisted tale of coded
messages, theft, false identities, murder, and international espionage.
Nora dares to hope that the labyrinth of leads will not only help them
locate the missing young woman, but also solve the disappearance of the
detective. That’s if Nora can stay alive long enough to find him…

Friday, December 2, 2016

Dear Friends,I have special visitors at the blog from Australia to introduce you to today. Vania has stopped by with her handsome dog Rex. I know you will enjoy meeting them here!

Abby: Who is your pet?

Vania: My dog is a labrador/golden retriever cross called Rex.

Abby: Is there a
story behind your pet's name?

Vania: Yes. My late Mom named him. She loved a tv program called Inspector Rex
which featured a police officer with his German Shepherd police dog. It was her
favourite show, so when we got the little pup she named him after her favourite
tv dog.

Abby: What is the funniest thing your pet has done?

Vania: Rex loves water and mud patches so I have to make sure to keep him away
from them. The other day he was running and playing in the park and I didn’t see
a little mud patch and in a flash his was in there, rolling around and having a
great time. His golden coat was all black and muddy.

Abby: Has your pet had any adventures?

Vania: Rex loves adventures. He loves riding with me at the back of the car.
He’s a celebrity down at the drive-through McDonald's. When I drive in all the
staff come to the window to greet him and take pictures. Together we’ve
discovered many parklands that we didn’t know existed, he loves exploring and
loves water.

Abby: What do you and your pet do for fun?

Vania: We go for walks and runs in the park and play tug of war. Oh and did I
mention food, he loves to eat and loves bananas and mangoes. He also loves to
play with his doggie friends in the park.

Abby: Does your pet have any favorite, special toys?

Vania: He loves his soccer ball and his rope tug toy. He did have a squeaky duck
that we called “Mr Quacker” but poor Mr Quacker had his head bitten off.

Abby: What are some special things your pet can do?

Vania: Did I mention eating? As soon as I mention a
walk or a ride , he is running around in circles and goes and grabs his
leash.

Abby: What are your pet's most lovable qualities?

Vania: Rex is a very social boy and loves to play with every dog. He is a gentle
giant and plays with kids. He is also a Mommy’s boy and he sleeps on my bed. In
winter he loves to be covered in a nice warm blanket.

Vania, thank you so much for visiting my blog! I loved learning more about Rex. He is such a sweet boy! It is wonderful that he is so good with children. It sounds like he also loves his trips to the park! Friends, if you have questions or comments for Vania, you can leave them in the comments below.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend! It is beautiful here after one very stormy day this past week.

Book SynopsisAlthough Eliza still refuses to marry Freddy Eynsford Hill, everyone
around her seems headed for the altar. Not only is her cousin Inspector
Jack Shaw about to wed his sweetheart, but Freddy’s younger sister Clara
is engaged, along with the niece of Henry Higgins. Another blushing
bride is the sixty-year-old Duchess of Carbrey, who plans to marry a
handsome fellow half her age. But when the groom is found dead, a
jealous mistress is blamed for the murder. However, the death may also
be connected to the stolen treasure of an Indian temple.

Disaster strikes next at Jack and Sybil’s wedding. Soon after, the
wedding reception of Higgins’s niece takes a lethal turn. Someone is
targeting bridegrooms, and the wedding of Freddy’s sister is next.
Before another bridal bouquet is tossed, Higgins and Eliza must track
down the killer. Otherwise, Clara’s bridegroom – and perhaps the bride
herself – may be murdered before they can get to the church on time.

Author BioD.E. Ireland is a team of award-winning authors, Meg
Mims and Sharon Pisacreta. Long time friends, they decided to
collaborate on this unique series based on George Bernard Shaw’s
wonderfully witty play, Pygmalion. While they admit the lovely film My Fair Lady
and its soundtrack proved to be inspiring, they are careful to stick to
Shaw’s vision of the beloved characters from Eliza to Higgins to
Pickering and Freddy Eynsford Hill. They’ve also added a cast of new
characters to flesh out their own version of events post-Pygmalion. They
both have patient husbands, brilliant daughters, and share a love of
good books, tea and history.Website:www.deireland.comFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/DEIrelandAuthor/Twitter:https://twitter.com/DEIrelandAuthorPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/deirelandauthor/Giveaway(1) Print Copy of Get Me To The Grave On Time by D.E. Irelanda Rafflecopter giveaway

About Me

Trish is a long-time online seller who loves all things vintage, but especially vintage children's books and ephemera. In other lives, worked as a bookstore manager and preschool teacher. Always pursuing vintage treasures, great reads, interesting words, and happiness.